Maralyn Foureur | PubMed Health

PubMed2002

Randomised controlled trials in nursing and midwifery: an interview with Maralyn Foureur. Interview by Pamela J. Wood.

Randomised controlled trials are considered to be one of the best research designs for determining effective care in the clinical setting. Relatively few randomised controlled trials, however, have been carried out in nursing or midwifery practice, so few examples of the practical realities of this research methodology are readily accessible. This is the sixth article in a series based on interviews with nursing and midwifery researchers, designed to offer the beginning researcher a first-hand account of the experience of using particular methodologies. This article focuses on the randomised controlled trial as experienced by Maralyn Foureur (RGON, RM, BA, Grad Dip Clin Epidem, PhD) who used this methodology to demonstrate the effectiveness of a continuity of care model in midwifery practice.

Continuity of Patient Care↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Medication administration errors: understanding the issues.

OBJECTIVE: This paper surveys current literature related to medication administration errors, the role of nurses in such errors, and current initiatives that are underway within New Zealand to address this aspect of patient safety. SETTING: The literature review focused on research that primarily addresses the issues related to medications that arise in tertiary care facilities. PRIMARY ARGUMENT: Medication administration errors are reported to occur in one in five medication dosages. Such events have long been scrutinised, with the primary focus being the practice of nurses and their role in medication error. Analysis of such events frequently identifies the nurse as the deliverer of unsafe practice. However, over the past few years a shift in how medication errors are understood has led to the identification of systems-related issues that contribute to medication errors. CONCLUSION: Initiatives such as the 'Quality and Safe Use of Medicines' raise the opportunity to address some of the safety related issues with a view to enhancing patient safety. A call for nurses to pre-emptively drive and contribute to these initiatives, along with the development of nursing led research, is offered.

Humans↗